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2nd Armored Division (France)
The French 2nd Armored Division ( ), commanded by General Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front. The division was formed around a core of units that had raided Italian Libya since end 1940 to Tripoli in 1943 under Leclerc, but known for its fight at Kufra in 1941; later renamed the 2nd Light Division, in August 1943, it was organized under the US light armored division organization. The division's 14,454 personnel included men from the 2nd Light Division, escapees from metropolitan France, about 3,600 Moroccans and Algerians,Olivier Forcade, Du capitaine de Hauteclocque au Général Leclerc, Vingtième Siècle, Revue d'histoire, Année 1998, Volume 58, Numéro 58, pp. 144–146"Aspect méconnu de la composition de la 2e DB : en avril 1944, celle-ci comporte sur un effectif total de 14 490, une proportion de 25 % de soldats nord-africains : 3 600", Christine Levisse-Touzé, Du capitaine de Hautecloque au général Leclerc?, Editions Complexe, 2000, p.243 and about 350 Spanish RepublicansPierre Milza, Exils et migration: Italiens et Espagnols en France, 1938–1946, L'Harmattan, 1994, p. 590 (other sources: about 2 000,http://www.memorial-montormel.org/?id=172 official records of 2e DB : less than 300 Spanish''Annuaire des anciens combattants de la 2e DB'', Imprimerie de Arrault, 1949 as they hide fearing retaliation on their family still in Spain). The division embarked in April 1944 and shipped to various ports in Great Britain. On 29 July 1944, bound for France, the division embarked at Southampton. During combat in 1944, the division liberated Paris, defeated a Panzer brigade during the armored clashes in Lorraine, forced the Saverne Gap, and liberated Strasbourg. After taking part in the Battle of the Colmar Pocket, the division was moved west and assaulted the German-held Atlantic port of Royan, before recrossing France in April 1945 and participating in the final fighting in southern Germany, even going first in the "Eagle's Nest" of Hitler (Americans captured the town beneath). Deactivated after the war, the 2nd Division was again activated in the 1970s and served through 1999. World War II operations Order of battle Infantry Ier Régiment de Marche du Tchad IIème Régiment de Marche du Tchad IIIème Régiment de Marche du Tchad Reconnaissance 1er Régiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains Armor 501ème Régiment de Chars de Combat 12ème Régiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique 12ème Régiment de Cuirassiers Tank destroyers Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers Marins (R.B.F.M) Artillery 1er groupe du 3ème Régiment d'Artillerie Coloniale (1/3° R.A.C) 1er Groupe du 40ème Régiment d'Artillerie Nord Africain (1/40° R.A.N.A) IIeme Groupe du 64ème Régiment d'Artillerie Anti-Aircraft 22ème Groupe Colonial de F.T.A Engineers 13ème Bataillon du Génie Signals 97/84ème Compagnie Mixte de Transmissions Motor transport and services 97ème Compagnie de Quartier Général 197ème Compagnie de Transport 297ème Compagnie de Transport 397ème Compagnie de Circulation Routière 497ème Compagnie de Services Supply 15ème Groupe d'Escadrons de Réparations (15e G.E.R) Medical 1ère Compagnie Médicale et Groupe d'Ambulancières "Rochambeau" (Rochambelles) 2ème Compagnie Médicale et Groupe d'Ambulancières de la Marine ("Marinettes") 3ème Compagnie Médicale et groupe d'Ambulancières "Quakers" (Britanniques) Tactical organization .]]Groupement tactique "Dio" (G.T.D) Colonel Dio Ier Régiment de Marche du Tchad 4ème R.M.S.M 12ème Cuirassiers 3ème R.B.F.M 1/3ème R.A.C 2/13ème Bataillon du génie Groupement tactique "Langlade" (G.T.L) Colonel de Langlade IIème Régiment de Marche du Tchad 2ème R.M.S.M 12ème Régiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique 4ème R.B.F.M 1/40ème R.A.N.A 2/13ème Bataillon du génie Groupement tactique Warabiot (G.T.V) Colonel Warabiot, puis Colonel Billotte, puis Colonel de Guillebon IIIème Régiment de Marche du Tchad 3ème R.M.S.M Île de France of the 12e RCA, 2e DB in Normandy]]501ème Régiment de Chars de Combat 2ème R.B.F.M 11/64ème R.A 2/13ème Bataillon du génie Falaise Pocket The division landed at Utah Beach in Normandy on 1 August 1944, about two months after the D-Day landings, and served under General Patton as part of Third Army. The division played a critical role in the battle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket (12–21 August), the Allied breakout from Normandy, when it served as a link between American and Canadian armies and made rapid progress against German forces. They all but destroyed the 9th Panzer Division and defeated several other German units. During the Battle for Normandy, the 2nd Division lost 133 men killed, 648 wounded, and 85 missing. Division material losses included 76 armored vehicles, 7 cannons, 27 halftracks, and 133 other vehicles. In the same period, the 2nd Division inflicted losses on the Germans of 4,500 killed and 8,800 taken prisoner, while the Germans' material losses in combat against the 2nd Division during the same period were 117 tanks, 79 cannons, and 750 wheeled vehicles.GUF, p. 989The extraordinary ratio of casualties inflicted vs. casualties suffered that was reported by this unit is at odds with the overall relation between Allied and German casualties during the battle of Normandy that becomes apparent from the data under http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/faq.htm#casualities. Liberation of Paris on 26 August 1944.]]The most celebrated moment in the unit's history involved the Liberation of Paris. Allied strategy emphasized destroying German forces retreating towards the Rhine, but when the French Resistance under Henri Rol-Tanguy staged an uprising in the city, Charles de Gaulle threatened to send the division into Paris, single-handedly, to prevent the uprising being crushed as had recently happened in Warsaw. Eisenhower agreed to let the French armored division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division go and liberate Paris. In the early morning of 23 August, Leclerc's 2e DB left the south of Argentan on its march to Paris, a march which was slowed by poor road conditions, French crowds, and fierce combat near Paris. On the 24th, General Leclerc sent a small advance party to enter the city, with the message that the Second Armored would be there the following day. This party, commanded by Captain Raymond Dronne, consisted of the 9th companyMade up of volunteers, mostly Spanish Republicans, the 9th company bore the name La Nueve, in Spanish, for its number "nine". of the 3rd Battalion of the Régiment de marche du Tchad. Dronne and his men arrived at the ''Hôtel de Ville'', in the center of Paris, shortly before 9:30 pm on the evening of 24 August. On 25 August, the French 2nd Armored and the U.S. 4th Division entered Paris and liberated it. After hard fighting that cost the 2nd Division 35 tanks, 6 self-propelled guns, and 111 vehicles, von Choltitz, the German military governor of Paris, capitulated at the Hôtel Meurice. The following day, 26 August, a great victory parade took place on the Champs Élysées, which was lined with a jubilant crowd acclaiming General de Gaulle and the liberators of Paris. Alsace & Lorraine The 2nd Division later fought in the tank battles in Lorraine, destroying the German 112th Panzer Brigade at the town of Dompaire on 13 September 1944. Subsequently, the 2nd Division operated with U.S. forces during the assault into the Vosges Mountains. Serving as the armored exploitation force for the U.S. XV Corps, the 2nd Division forced the Saverne Gap and thrust forward boldly, unbalancing German defenses in northern Alsace and liberating Strasbourg on 23 November 1944. The Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to the division for this action. Fighting in Alsace until the end of February 1945, the 2nd Division was deployed to reduce the Royan Pocket on the western coast of France in March–April 1945. Germany After forcing the Germans in the Royan Pocket to surrender on 18 April 1945, the 2nd Division crossed France again to rejoin the Allied 6th Army Group for final operations in Germany. Operating with the U.S. 12th Armored Division, elements of the French 2nd Armored Division pursued the remnants of German Army Group G across Swabia and Bavaria, occupying the town of Bad Reichenhall on 4 May 1945. Eventually, the 2nd Division finished its campaigning at the Nazi resort town of Berchtesgaden in Southeastern Germany.There has been some confusion as to which unit actually captured Berchtesgaden, the three "contenders" being the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, and the French 2nd Armored Division. The town was captured by the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, whose commander ensured that bridges leading to the town were not opened to other Allied units until the 3rd ID had occupied Berchtesgaden. See this article for more information. Division Combat Casualties According to Defence Historical Service, the unit counted 1,224 dead (including 96 Maghrebis) and 5,257 wounded (including 584 Maghrebis) at the end of the campaign in northwestern Europe.Paul-Marie de La Gorce, L'Empire écartelé, 1936-1946, Denoël, 1988, p.496-497 It had killed 12,100 Axis soldiers, captured 41,500 and destroyed 332 heavy and medium tanks, 2,200 other vehicles, and 426 cannons of various types. According to another source, the unit counted 1,687 dead, including 108 officers, and 3,300 wounded .GUF, p. 1163 Post–World War II On 13 May 1945 SHAEF relinquished operational control of the 2nd Armored Division to France. From 23 to 28 May 1945 the 2nd Division moved to its new garrison in the region of Paris, where it was deactivated on 31 March 1946. In the late 1960s and early 1970s there are records of 501 Régiment de Chars de Combat (501 RCC) being part of the 2nd Brigade of the 8th Armored Division, part of the 1st Corps of the First Army (France). The 2nd Brigade of the 8th Armored Division 'qui est l'heritière des traditions de la 2e DB' – carried on the traditions of the 2nd Armored Division.501e/503e Régiment de Chars de Combat, 'Le Futur et l'Action,' Publie par les EDITIONS B.D.I., 78510 Triel-sur-Seine, 1998, ISBN 2-910437-06-X, p.83 The French Army was extensively reorganised in 1977, with three-brigade divisions being dissolved and small divisions of four or five manoeuvre regiments/battalions being created.David Isby and Charles Kamps Jr., Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.107, ISBN 0-7106-0341-X The 2nd Armored Division appears to have been reformed at this time. From the late 1970s until 1999, the 2nd Division was headquartered in Versailles and was subordinated to the III Corps.1977 OOB at orbat.com1984 OOB at orbat.com1995 OOB at orbat.com It became the 2nd Armored Brigade in 1999. See also *Battle of Kufra *Battle for Paris *Military history of France during World War II *General Leclerc *Jean Rémy Footnotes Article Sources * Les Grandes Unités Françaises (GUF), Volume V, Part 2, Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1975. * historynet article on Berchtesgaden capture Further reading *''La 2eme DB vue par un 2eme classe : Gilbert Lévy-Haussmann''. – Aigremont : Gilbert Lévy-Haussmann, 2005. – 160 p., . –, 2-9524349-0-5 *''La 2eme DB'', Erwan Bergot, Presses de la Cité, Paris, 1980, 2266010670 External links * History of the 2nd DB on memorial-montormel.org * History of the 2nd DB on http://2db.free.fr A Category:Armored divisions of France Category:Military units and formations established in 1943 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1999